1. Age of Exploration: Early American Explorers
By: Kristi Walker th Grade

2. Words To Know Conquistador Expedition Cartographer Compass
Circumnavigate
Colony
Voyage
Columbian Exchange
Spanish Mission

3. Conquistador
A soldier who conquered new lands for Spain.

4. Expedition
A journey made for a special purpose.

5. Cartographer
A map maker.

6. Compass
A navigational instrument used to determine direction.

7. Circumnavigate
To sail all the way around – particularly the earth.

8. Colony
A settlement far away from the country that rules it.

9. Voyage
A long journey by sea.

10. Columbian Exchange
The movement of people, plants, animals, and germs across the Atlantic Ocean.

11. Spanish Missions
Religious settlements built by the Spanish.

12. Why go exploring?
Foreign Goods – People went in search of spices and other goods, such as silk, that could not be found in their country.
Wealth – People wanted to find gold, silver, gems, and furs.
Curiosity – People wanted to know what was out there.
Expansion – To claim new lands for their country.
Religion – Europeans were very religious and wanted to spread Christianity.
Trade – To find better trade routes between other countries.
Foreign goods: In the 1400s, there was no refrigeration. To prevent meat from spoiling, people drowned their meat in salt to preserve and dry it (like beef jerky). They also used a lot of spices like pepper to cover up the taste of the salted or spoiled meat.
Unfortunately for Europeans, these spices did not grow anywhere in Europe. They were only found in Asian countries like China, Japan, and India (these countries were known together as "The Indies"). It was very difficult to get the spices from Asia to Europe. Spices had to be brought across thousands of miles of dangerous mountains and deserts by spice traders, with bandits waiting to rob the spice caravans. The alternative was to bring the spices by ship, but the sea voyage was also dangerous because of pirates and storms. Since it was so difficult to get spices from Asia to Europe, spices were very expensive.
In 1453, spices became even more expensive and difficult to find in Europe when the land route from Asia to Europe was cut-off by the Turkish Empire. The European rulers tried several times to defeat the Turks in battle, but they were turned back each time.
Several European rulers finally decided to try to find a route around the Turkish Empire. If a country could find a way to get these valuable spices to Europe, the rulers would be very rich.
Wealth: European rulers fought many wars. They fought against each other and against the Turkish Empire. These wars were very expensive, so they needed to find lots of gold, silver, and precious stones to pay for them. They believed that Asia was loaded with gold, silver, and precious stones, so they decided to find it and bring it back. Eventually, the French found that animal furs, especially beaver hats, were very valuable in Europe. Imagine everyone walking around in a beaver hat!
Curiosity: In the late 1400s, Europeans did not know much about the world. Most of them had never been outside of Europe. The European map of the world included only Europe, Asia, and the top of Africa. They thought there was only one ocean, the Ocean Sea. Although many people thought the world was flat, educated Europeans knew that it was round. The problem was they had no idea how large the world was.
Expansion: Some European rulers, especially the King of Spain and the King of Portugal, wanted to claim as much land as they could. They wanted to take all of the natural resources from this land and use the people that lived there as slaves to do their work.
Religion: In the late 1400s, there was only one religion in Europe, Christianity. The European rulers were very religious. They wanted to convert everyone to Christianity.

13. Explorers we will study:
Columbus
Pizarro
Balboa
De Soto

14. Christopher Columbus

15. Click image for Columbus Video

16. Columbus: When?
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue!

17. Was He First?
NO! Viking explorers reached North America long before Columbus.
However, Columbus receives the credit for discovering America.

18. Columbus: How?
Columbus convinced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his expedition.

19. Columbus: Why?
Columbus hoped to find gold, spices and other treasures.
He also wanted to discover a western route to Asia.

20. Columbus Columbus left Spain on August 3, 1492.
He took 90 men and 3 ships.
They sailed for more than 2 months before they saw land.

21. Columbus
The names of his ships were the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

22. Columbus
They landed in a group of islands known as the Bahamas on October 12, 1942.
He named the island San Salvador.

23. Columbus
He thought that he had landed in the East Indies, so he called the people that he met Indians.
The people of the island were actually the Taino.
They were friendly and shared food, parrots and gold pieces.

24. Columbus: Route

25. Columbus
Columbus thought that he had landed in Asia (India is in Asia) but instead, he had found a “New World!”
Columbus took three more trips from Spain to the New World and began European exploration to America.

26. Why It Matters?
Columbus began the movement called the Columbian Exchange.
Columbian Exchange is the movement of plants, people, animals and diseases across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Columbian Exchange changed life on all five continents for good and for bad.
Good changes: Foods and horses
Bad changes: Diseases that killed the Indians

27. Columbian Exchange
Click Brain Pop Logo for Columbian Exchange Video

28. Vasco Nunez de Balboa

29. Balboa
Balboa was the first Spanish Conquistador to conquer native civilizations.
He is known for discovering the Pacific Ocean and adjoining lands and claiming them for Spain.

30. Balboa
After sailing on another expedition, Balboa started a plantation on the island of Hispaniola.
When his plantation failed he fled to San Sebastian, on the northern coast of South America.

31. Balboa
Upon arrival, he discovered that the settlement had been destroyed by Native Americans.
He persuaded the survivors to move to the Isthmus of Panama, along the Atlantic Coast, where he founded the settlement of Darien.
While living at Darien, Balboa explored the inland territories and brought the local Native Americans under Spanish rule.

32. Balboa
Balboa was accused of treason. To save his life, he would have to prove his loyalty to the king of Spain.
He had heard about a great sea on the other side of the Isthmus of Panama so he set out to find the sea and claim it for Spain in 1513.

33. Balboa
With 190 Spanish soldiers and 1,000 Native Americans, Balboa crossed the thick Central American jungle.
On the other side, he found the great sea. He named it Mar del Sur, or the South Sea.
It was later renamed the Pacific Ocean by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan.

34. Balboa: Route

35. Francisco Pizarro

36. Pizarro
Pizarro is known for conquering the Incan Empire.

37. Pizarro
After Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean for Spain, he set up a seaport in Panama. Expeditions began to sail up and down the Pacific Coast from this port.
These expeditions had 2 main goals: find a water route through the Isthmus of Panama and to find the wealthy empire of the Inca.

38. Pizarro
Pizarro and his men, 177 of them, would have to cross the dangerous cliffs of the Andes Mountains to reach the Incan Empire.
Because Pizarro promised peace, his expedition was allowed to pass through this territory without being attacked.

39. Pizarro
But Pizarro had other plans! He was going to attack the Incan leader, Atahaulpa and his army!
Worried that he might be “walking into a trap,” Pizarro invited Atahaulpa to meet him at the main square.

40. Pizarro
The main square had long, low buildings that had lots of doorways. Pizarro hid his army near these openings, ready to attack.
The Incans showed up unarmed.

41. Pizarro
Pizarro sent a religious leader (known as a friar) to talk to the Incan leader and try to get him to convert to Christianity.
When they refused, Pizarro ordered an attack and all his men jumped out of their hiding spots.
At least 2,000 Inca – and maybe more – were killed in the surprise attack.

42. Pizarro: Route

43. Hernando de Soto

44. De Soto
De Soto was the first European to explore Florida and much of the Southeast.
He is credited with discovering the Mississippi river.

45. De Soto
In May, 1539, Hernando de Soto landed near present day Tampa Bay Florida.
His expedition included 9 vessels, an army of more than 600 men, and about 200 horses.
He was in search of gold, silver, and other valuable natural resources but the expedition never found any riches.

46. De Soto
De Soto and his army crossed the Mississippi River on rafts and spent the winter in the Arkansas valley near present day Little Rock.
In the spring, they traveled eastward to the Mississippi River, where De Soto died in May, 1542.

47. De Soto
After De Soto died, the rest of the expedition continued down the Mississippi River on rafts and along the Gulf of Mexico.
The explorers never found what they were looking for but the 4 year trip helped the Spanish draw maps of much of southeastern North America.

48. De Soto

49. De Soto: Route

50. Focus Questions: Why did Pizarro search for the Inca empire?
He wanted to take their riches. The Spanish were searching for gold and silver in the Americas. They wanted to conquer the Incas because they were weathy.

51. Focus Questions:
When Columbus landed in the Bahamas, what place did he think he discovered?
He thought he had found the East Indies but in reality he had found the West Indies and Central America.

52. Focus Questions:
What was Hernando de Soto hoping to find on his expedition?
Gold and other riches.

53. Focus Questions:
What did Balboa name the great sea?
The South Sea.